Technological advances in semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) materials, design, processing, and manufacturing have enabled ever-shrinking IC devices, where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation.
Bipolar transistors are used to selectively connect electrically separate devices in an integrated circuit. Performance of a bipolar transistor is measured using a turn-off time, a time period between the bipolar transistor receiving a turn off signal and the bipolar transistor becoming non-conductive. Performance of a bipolar transistor is also measured by a voltage drop across the bipolar transistor, which is determined, in some instance, by an on-state resistance.
Various embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.